Miami and Pittsburgh have been running into each other for three quarters of a century now, bumping into one another as independents, Big East rivals and, now, ACC foes. The brands and coaches have changed, but this matchup has had a knack for showing up at key moments in conference races and, a few times, the national conversation.
The series began in 1950 and has been a regular part of Miami's schedule in every decade since. As of their last meeting in 2022, the Hurricanes lead the all-time series 29-12-1, with wins in 25 of the past 31 games. Pittsburgh's 42-16 victory in Miami Gardens in 2022 was just the Panthers' fourth win in the last 26 matchups in the series.
Miami and Pitt will add another chapter this Saturday, when the Hurricanes go on the road for a Week 14 noon kickoff on ABC with both teams still alive in the ACC title race.
Miami-Pitt Rivalry History
The series opened with a Miami shutout. The Hurricanes beat Pitt 28-0 in the first meeting on Oct. 28, 1950, at Pitt Stadium. Pitt answered with a 21-7 win in 1951, then grabbed narrow victories in 1960 and 1961 as the schools traded blows and even played to a 20-20 tie in 1964.
By the mid-1960s, though, Miami began to dominate the matchup. The Hurricanes ripped off a string of decisive wins, highlighted by a 38-14 victory in 1966 and back-to-back shutouts in 1967 and 1968. The 58-0 win in Pittsburgh in 1967 remains the largest margin of victory by either side in the series.
Pitt's best punch came during its golden era. In 1970 the Panthers beat Miami 28-17, then six years later, Tony Dorsett and a rising Pitt program rolled to a 36-19 win in 1976 on the way to a national championship and a Heisman Trophy for Dorsett. That 36-19 result still stands as the Panthers' largest win in the series.
Once Miami rose to national power in the 1980s, the series became lopsided. The Hurricanes beat Pitt 27-7 in 1984, 37-10 in 1986, 24-3 in 1989 and 45-0 in 1990.
In 2001, No. 1 Miami went to Heinz Field and dominated in a 43-21 win, with Ken Dorsey and Clinton Portis powering an eventual national championship team. A year later, the top-ranked Hurricanes outlasted No. 17 Pitt 28-21 in the Orange Bowl in a Thursday-night game that had the Big East conference title on the line.
Pitt fell to Miami 41-31 in the 2013 regular-season finale. Four years later, they flipped the script in one of the most memorable games in series history. In 2017, freshman quarterback Kenny Pickett led Pitt to a 24-14 upset of No. 2 Miami, ending the Hurricanes' undefeated regular season.
D'Eriq King threw four touchdown passes in a 31-19 home win in 2020. In 2021, Tyler Van Dyke erupted for 428 passing yards and three scores as Miami beat No. 17 Pitt 38-34 on the road, outdueling Pickett. Pitt answered with authority in 2022, rolling to a 42-16 win in Miami Gardens.
Every score in the Miami-Pitt series
- Oct. 28, 1950: Miami 28, Pittsburgh 0
- Dec. 7, 1951: Pittsburgh 21, Miami 7
- Oct. 29, 1955: Miami 21, Pittsburgh 7
- Dec. 8, 1956: Pittsburgh 14, Miami 7
- Dec. 7, 1957: Miami 28, Pittsburgh 13
- Oct. 8, 1960: Pittsburgh 17, Miami 6
- Sept. 16, 1961: Pittsburgh 10, Miami 7
- Sept. 15, 1962: Miami 23, Pittsburgh 14
- Nov. 30, 1963: Pittsburgh 31, Miami 20
- Oct. 17, 1964: Miami 20, Pittsburgh 20
- Oct. 23, 1965: Pittsburgh 28, Miami 14
- Nov. 11, 1966: Miami 38, Pittsburgh 14
- Oct. 21, 1967: Miami 58, Pittsburgh 0
- Nov. 1, 1968: Miami 48, Pittsburgh 0
- Oct. 24, 1970: Pittsburgh 28, Miami 17
- Oct. 16, 1976: Pittsburgh 36, Miami 19
- Oct. 20, 1984: Miami 27, Pittsburgh 7
- Nov. 8, 1986: Miami 37, Pittsburgh 10
- Nov. 11, 1989: Miami 24, Pittsburgh 3
- Nov. 3, 1990: Miami 45, Pittsburgh 0
- Nov. 6, 1993: Miami 35, Pittsburgh 7
- Nov. 12, 1994: Miami 17, Pittsburgh 12
- Oct. 21, 1995: Miami 17, Pittsburgh 16
- Sept. 28, 1996: Miami 45, Pittsburgh 0
- Sept. 18, 1997: Pittsburgh 21, Miami 17
- Nov. 19, 1998: Miami 38, Pittsburgh 10
- Nov. 6, 1999: Miami 33, Pittsburgh 3
- Nov. 11, 2000: Miami 35, Pittsburgh 7
- Sept. 27, 2001: No. 1 Miami 43, Pittsburgh 21
- Nov. 21, 2002: No. 1 Miami 28, No. 17 Pittsburgh 21
- Nov. 29, 2003: Miami 28, Pittsburgh 14
- Sept. 23, 2010: Miami 31, Pittsburgh 3
- Nov. 29, 2013: Miami 41, Pittsburgh 31
- Nov. 29, 2014: Pittsburgh 35, Miami 23
- Nov. 27, 2015: Miami 29, Pittsburgh 24
- Nov. 5, 2016: Miami 51, Pittsburgh 28
- Nov. 24, 2017: Pittsburgh 24, No. 2 Miami 14
- Nov. 24, 2018: Miami 24, Pittsburgh 3
- Oct. 26, 2019: Miami 16, Pittsburgh 12
- Oct. 17, 2020: No. 13 Miami 31, Pittsburgh 19
- Oct. 30, 2021: Miami 38, No. 17 Pittsburgh 34
- Nov. 26, 2022: Pittsburgh 42, Miami 16